Whatcha think about this MLK quote?

[johnrocks]

The man was all but a card carrying socialist, I seriously don't know why many on the right holds the communist sympathizer in such high regards.

 

[8537]

He didn't hide his socialism. His complaint about the Great Society was that it was far too little, lost to the fields of Vietnam. His 1968 March was a multi-racial march for the poor and impoverished and spoke of reconstructing society in a manner that addressed "Systematic flaws of militarism, racism and poverty".

But tell the uh, uber educated, how he was pro socialism yet so anti communism. According to our residents here, they're all the same bundle of joy.

He lived in a different era. I'm not saying that he would have supported the war in Iraq or anywhere else.... Only really stupid people want war. Sometimes, it is necessary. And, MLK was a Christian..... Christianity and socialism share many traits.... the main difference being that Christians believe it is the responsibility of the individual (a fundamental of Conservatism), socialists believe it is the government's responsibility and that responsibility gives them the right to take from one to give to another. Things were different in the 1960s. Do I believe that MLK would be on the far left or the far right - I think he would be neither.

MLK believed in a christianity based on social and community liberation. He believed that the US was the reason the North Vietnamese sent millions in to S. Vietnam. He believed in a "fundamental restructuring" of American society and he believed that the Great Society programs were far too small and dealt far too little with distributive justice.

if that's not far left by any reasonable definition, how would you define "Far left"?

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

If they took the money pissed away on duhhh military and put it towards free higher education you could get an "A' and become America again..

What does spending more money on higher education have to do with anything?

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

I don't think I've heard anyone undermining the Family Unit.:

What do you think the welfare state does?

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

I don't think I've heard anyone undermining the Family Unit.:

What do you think the welfare state does?

"The welfare state" isn't a real thing. Most Americans work. Most Americans are middle-class.

Oh really? Take a trip to The Bronx some time and tell me it's not a real thing. Or maybe South Central L.A. Ever hear of Cabrini Green? Go visit any public housing project and the vast majority of what you see are single mothers with kids. If the father was around and they were a family unit they more than likely wouldn't be living in the ghetto off the public dole.

 

[Hafar1014]

"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."

Simply curious.

My thoughts are mixed. Programs of social uplift, done the wrong way, can alleviate incentive.

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We only spend 6% of GDP on the military including the wars we are fighting now. We spend far more on social programs. It might be a good idea to talk about what success the social programs have. Headstart failed, welfare didnt reduce poverty, social security is going broke and produces a pitiful benefit based on the large taxes paid. Many social programs reward failure and prevent people from learing from their failures so they repeat them. Federal social programs dont seem to do much more then advance the role of government. Let local government create the social programs.

 

[Hafar1014]

MLK was a pacifist, a far left socialist and a radical community organizer. Somehow, the right has attempted to hijack this and carve it into their own message.

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MLK was a Republican

 

[8537]

What do you think the welfare state does?

"The welfare state" isn't a real thing. Most Americans work. Most Americans are middle-class.

Oh really? Take a trip to The Bronx some time and tell me it's not a real thing. Or maybe South Central L.A. Ever hear of Cabrini Green? Go visit any public housing project and the vast majority of what you see are single mothers with kids. If the father was around and they were a family unit they more than likely wouldn't be living in the ghetto off the public dole.

I don't think we can use Cabrini Green as an example of the current "welfare state."

 

[8537]

MLK was a pacifist, a far left socialist and a radical community organizer. Somehow, the right has attempted to hijack this and carve it into their own message.

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MLK was a Republican

No, there is some indication in the rightwing blogosphere that MLK Sr was a Republican for a period in his life, as many minorities were before the 1960's.

MLK Jr, who is obviously the topic here, was a far left democratic socialist.

 

[johnrocks]

We spend far too much on everything. Last night I was listening to a former Congressman talk about him trying to make a point on how to balance the budget back in the early 70's; if each Congressman would remove just one Federal program from their District, it would be balanced; and he lost the election after saying that and was ahead in the polls just days earlier.

Now, that would not even touch balancing the budget and people are STILL wanting to cut EVERYONE ELSE SACRED COW but cut their's...oh nooooooooooo, it's "Constitutional" or only "X" percentage of GDP or "we needs it".

It won't ever be balanced with this "cut your sacred cow but leave mine alone" mindset regardless of the Constitutionality of anything, that's just the way politics are played.